Amine Ghorab I try to loosen our position in the world, like a small distortion

Amine Ghorab builds worlds from scratch. Using CGI, he studies form, texture and objects. But they’re not just skilful explorations; his realities seamlessly morph into fantasy, and back again.

Sometimes they feature familiar things – like a spiral staircase – but quite often you will find weird, sponge-like objects, rotating back and forth, without a clear purpose.

“I try new things to create something magical, the Paris-based creative director and designer says. "CGI gives me the freedom to script these kind of scenarios. I’m interested in creating a bridge in which the real can sometimes confront the dream. I like to try to loosen our position in the world, like a small distortion."

“I try new things to create something magical. CGI gives me the freedom to transcript these kind of scenarios,” the Paris-based creative director and designer says.

“I’m interested in creating a bridge in which the real can sometimes confront the dream. I like to try to loosen our position in the world like a small distortion.”

There’s an uncertainty to his pieces – like the still-life of a dice, a playing card and chess pieces placed alongside each other. What is the connection? How is the card staying in that position? This disorientation is exactly what Amine is trying to create. Behind this lies a deep level of forethought – every object, movement and lighting affect has been carefully choreographed.

“This still-life is a visual expression of a group of objects where each one can live on its own and has nothing to prove, but sometimes, it can reflect a fragment of our existence. It all depends on the interpretation of each viewer,” he says.

“This still-life is a visual expression of a group of objects where each one can live on its own and has nothing to prove, but sometimes, it can reflect a fragment of our existence. It all depends on the interpretation of each viewer,” he says.

It becomes clear that behind each of his explorations lays a deep conceptual framework. He has thought out every movement, object or type of light he creates.

“Light is the most important thing in our existence and without it we can't feel anything. Life has a purpose because we can see the world. Light not only allows us to see things; in some ways it also gives us a perspective on our future,” Amine says.

Alongside these cerebral ideas, Amine's work has a sense of serenity that somehow exists simultaneously with the unease, the restlessness. Whether it’s the spiral staircase slowly turning for eternity, the golden hour sun bouncing off the corner of an orange ball or a balloon endlessly inflating and deflating, Amine manages to grab our attention with quiet force.